Urban Farm

​Stu Smith is a life-long Lutheran who spent most of his time in congregations that were small town and rural. His wife, Julianne, is a Lutheran pastor and he was always actively involved in each congregation in which she served. However, he felt something was lacking in what he was able to do. The parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25 made him realize the importance of hands-on service with those in need.

When Pastor Julianne took a call to Prince of Peace Lutheran Church near Youngstown, Ohio, Stu became reacquainted with a former pastor serving in an inner-city congregation, Martin Luther Lutheran Church. At first, the contact was fairly superficial, but Stu learned about the community outreach that Martin Luther Lutheran did, and it piqued his interest. “I really liked how the congregation was working with the south side neighborhood which is changing and poorer than what it used to be. It’s very service-oriented and hands-on.”

Then several things happened to fulfill Stu’s desire to do more. The congregation purchased some land across the street from the church to create a community garden. An invitation was sent out to members at Prince of Peace to help prepare the garden. Stu was eager to participate not only in the gardening itself, but also in the distribution of the produce. Additionally, he became involved with their neighborhood outreach “Bondage Busters.” 

The other event that took place was his wife taking a call as Director of Evangelical Mission and Assistant to the Bishop in the Northeastern Ohio Synod. This meant finding a new church home, and Martin Luther Lutheran became the obvious choice. Now, he serves as the director of the garden which has grown into an urban farm with several plots and an orchard. Along with his work in the garden, Stu joined the choir and was elected to their congregation council as secretary. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he participated in food distribution in the neighborhood as well.

Funding for the garden/farm came from members of Martin Luther Lutheran Church, and a grant from the Northeastern Ohio Synod as well as The Wean Foundation in Warren and Youngstown. A new partner is OASIS Inc., a foundation connected to OASIS Synod Authorized Worship Community that serves at-risk youth and young adults. They have provided funding to hire local youth to work in the urban farm. Thank you for your mission support to Martin Luther Lutheran, our synod, and to OASIS to allow these important ministries to grow.